From Nagarjuna and Amala to Sania Mirza and Chiranjeevi, Telangana's celebrities come out to vote

Hyderabad: Though the polling for Telangana Assembly elections is picking up at a slow pace, polling stations in upscale Banjara Hills, Jubilee Hills and Film Nagar areas turned glamorous with celebrities turning up to vote.

Voters in Banjara Hills expressed anger at Mahesh Babu bypassing the queue to cast his vote and leave within minutes.

Chiranjeevi, who last time faced the anger of voters for trying to bypass the queue, observed the discipline this time.

Chiranjeevi

Tennis star Sania Mirza stood in the queue and cast her vote.

Sania Mirza

Jwala Gutta was disappointed to know her name was missing from the voters' list. She has her voter ID card. She tweeted, “How is the election fair, when names are mysteriously disappearing from the list?” Despite her disappointment, she urged people to go and cast their votes.

There has been confusion about the voters list this time, as names were en masse deleted on various grounds including that of voters not being present at their address. Disappointed voters were a common sight at many places. People who enthusiastically walked down to the polling stations, got the rude shock when they were told their names were not on the lists.

Nagarjuna and Amala

Many senior citizens who are in their 70s, 80s and even 90s set themselves as great examples to the young generation, by reaching the polling stations to cast their votes.

92-year-old woman casts her vote, says not voting is a mistake

First time voters cast their vote in Charminar segment

Many persons with disabilities (PWD) too participated in the polling with enthusiasm. The Election Commission provided special facilities for PWDs to enable them to cast their votes without difficulty. Volunteers took care of such people.

Ram Charan and Upasana

Seventy-year old Balladeer Gaddar, who was a Maoist sympathizer opposing the electoral politics till a few years ago, cast his vote for the first time in the current election. He has been campaigning for the Congress-led People’s Alliance, calling for an end to the dictatorial and autocratic rule of K Chandrasekhar Rao government.

KCR said after voting, "This is the second or third time in Telangana region that a pro-incumbency government is coming back. You need not have any doubts. By evening you will see the exit polls. There is a pro-incumbency wave across the state. You can expect good results."

Renuka Chowdhury casts her vote in Khammam

Chief Electoral Officer Rajat Kumar is monitoring the situation from the command and control room at his office in the Secretariat premises.